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☆ Libya flood disaster damaged ancient city but revealed new remains
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Ayman Al-Warfali | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CYRENE, Libya, Oct 5 (Reuters) - The flooding that killed thousands in Libya's Derna last month damaged the ruins at the ancient Greek city of Cyrene in the mountains nearby, but it also revealed new archaeological remains there by washing away earth and stones. The flooding caused mud and rubble to pile in Cyrene's Greek-era baths that will require specialised clearing said local antiquities department official Adel Boufjra. "The flooding has revealed a new site - a water canal that I believe dates back to the Roman era. One of Libya's five UNESCO World Heritage sites, along with the extensive Roman ruins overlooking the Mediterranean at Sabratha and Leptis Magna, Cyrene's stone pillared temples stand on a fertile hillside near rocky crags. Reporting by Ayman al-Warfali, writing by Angus McDowall, editing by Alexandra HudsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Storm Daniel, Adel Boufjra, Boufjra, Ayman al, Angus McDowall, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Reuters, UNESCO, Heritage, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: CYRENE, Libya, Derna, Cyrene, Greek, Hellenic, Sabratha

☆ 2,300-year-old tomb found in Israel may contain remains of Greek courtesan
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Lianne Kolirin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Archaeologists in Israel have discovered what they believe to be the remains of an Ancient Greek courtesan. Stiebel told CNN that he and his team believe the woman would have been among the first Greeks to arrive in the region. Liat Oz, the director of the excavation on behalf of the IAA, described the mirror found in the tomb alongside the remains. Researchers say the mirror is incredibly rare, with just 63 discovered in the Hellenistic world. Stiebel told CNN that the team are continuing with further research in order to “zoom in” on the finer details of the mirror.

Persons: Guy Stiebel, Emil Aladjem, ”, Alexander the Great, Stiebel, Oz, “, Alexandra the Great, ” Stiebel Organizations: CNN, Archaeologists, Tel Aviv University, Israel Antiquities Authority, Israel Antiquities Authority “, IAA Locations: Israel, Kibbutz, Jerusalem, East, Ancient Greece, Egypt, Rome, Greece

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt is seeking to double the number of visitors to the country in the next five years, its top tourism official told The Associated Press. Egypt is aiming at reaching 30 million visitors by 2028, as its once-thriving tourism sector recovers from the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and the grinding war in Europe following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Tourism and Antiquities Minister Ahmed Issa said Tuesday. Last year, tourism revenues surged to $10.7 billion, up from around $5 billion in 2021, according to the Egyptian central bank. Such an increase, he said, would help the government achieve its target of 18 million tourist visits in 2024. Issa spoke to the AP from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, a neoclassical structure built in the late 19th century and the first purpose-built museum in the Middle East and North Africa.

Persons: Ahmed Issa, “, ” Issa, Issa, ”, Hosni Mubarak, Ali Abdel, Halim, Abdel, Marcel Dourgnon, “ It’s Organizations: Associated Press, Antiquities, Egyptian, British Museum, European Union, National Museum of Egyptian, Grand Egyptian Museum Locations: CAIRO, Egypt, Europe, Ukraine, Tourism, Russian, Cairo, East, North Africa, Paris, French

☆ Ancient Maya Grave Found in Mexico as Tourist Rail Project Advances
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

The rail project, known as the Maya Train, is a top economic development priority of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. It employs teams of relatively well-funded archaeologists who have rushed to complete excavations so the construction work will not be delayed. They likely pertain to an elite resident of the city, known by the ancient Maya as Lakamha'. Scholars credit the ancient Maya with major human achievements in art, architecture, astronomy and writing. Palenque, like dozens of other ancient cities clustered around southern Mexico and parts of Central America, thrived from around 300-900 AD.

Persons: INAH, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Carolina Pulice, David Alire Garcia, David Gregorio Organizations: MEXICO CITY Locations: Carolina, MEXICO, Mexico, Cancun, Tulum, Palenque, Chiapas, Central America

☆ Ancient Maya grave found in Mexico as tourist rail project advances
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Carolina Pulice | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Persons: INAH, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Carolina Pulice, David Alire Garcia, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology, MEXICO CITY, Thomson Locations: Palenque, MEXICO, Mexico, Cancun, Tulum, Chiapas, Central America

☆ Schiele drawings stolen by Nazis have been returned to their former owner’s heirs more than 80 years later
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Scottie Andrew | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —During a ceremony and press conference Wednesday in New York, seven drawings by the Austrian expressionist Egon Schiele were returned to the heirs of their former owner, Fritz Grünbaum, whose art collection was stolen by the Nazis during World War II. His routines, which often openly derided Nazism and Hitler, were eventually banned, and Nazis arrested Grünbaum in 1938. His wife, Elisabeth, was later forced to turn over her husband’s art collection — which Bragg said Wednesday included “hundreds of pieces” — to the Nazis. Grünbaum’s collection included “I Love Antithesis,” a colorful watercolor painting of the artist, and “Girl Putting on Shoe,” which was previously held by MoMA. Earlier this week, additional Schiele pieces were “seized” from three US museums amid other efforts to reunite Grünbaum’s collection, though they currently remain at the museums pending further investigation.

Persons: Egon Schiele, Fritz Grünbaum, “, ”, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Jr, Nazism, Hitler, Grünbaum, Elisabeth, Bragg, Timothy Reif, ” Bragg, Edith, Grünbaum’s, they’d, Ronald Lauder, Reif, ” Reif, Hitler’s Organizations: CNN, Manhattan District, Attorney, MoMA, Nazi, Holocaust Memorial Museum, Morgan Library, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Fischer Foundation, New York Times Locations: New York, Austrian, Jewish Austrian, Vienna, Dachau, Germany, Minsk, Belarus, Schiele, Swiss, California

☆ Sunken ancient temples were found in a mysterious underwater city, with Egyptian and Greek treasures
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Archaeologists uncovered a treasure trove of ancient Egyptian and Greek artifacts. They were found on the site of the sunken city of Thonis-Heracleion, which was lost until 2000. Christoph Gerigk ©Franck Goddio/Hilti FoundationA temple to the king of ancient Egyptian godsThe latest excavation located a precious site: the sunken temple of Amun. Ancient Egyptian artifacts were uncovered in the remains of the Amun temple. Christoph Gerigk ©Franck Goddio/Hilti FoundationThe excavation also uncovered another sacred site, but this time, it was devoted to ancient Greek rituals.

Persons: Franck Goddio, Christoph Gerigk, Heracleion, Goddio, Amun, Silver, Aphrodite Organizations: Service, European Institute for Underwater, Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of, Hilti Locations: Thonis, Wall, Silicon, Egypt, Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt, Alexandria, Greece

☆ Provenance of a Museum’s Greek Exhibit Is Questioned, Fueling a Debate
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( Graham Bowley | More About Graham Bowley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Fla., was riding high as “From Chaos to Order,” an exhibition of ancient Greek art, became its first major traveling show in years, making stops at museums in Florida and South Carolina before preparing to head west. “The idea was to look at the origins of Greek art in a new way,” said Michael Bennett, the former St. Petersburg curator who organized the show of works from the Geometric period, circa 900 to 700 B.C. “We felt it had something new to say about Greek art.”But earlier this year, when the exhibition was scheduled to travel to the Denver Art Museum, the staff there balked because many of the 57 artifacts lacked detailed provenances. The Denver museum had recently had its own scandal, when it returned four artifacts to Cambodia. Its director, Christoph Heinrich, suggested postponing the Florida exhibition in the hope that the provenance issues could be resolved.

Persons: ”, Michael Bennett, Sol Rabin, Christoph Heinrich Organizations: of Fine Arts, Denver Art Museum, Denver Locations: St . Petersburg, Fla, Florida, South Carolina, St, Petersburg, Denver, Cambodia

☆ Egypt inaugurates newly restored Ottoman mosque at Cairo citadel
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/8] Members of media record inside the restored Sariyat al-Gabal Mosque, also known as the Mosque of Suleyman Pasha al-Khadim, the first Ottoman mosque built inside the Salah al-Din Citadel in old Cairo, Egypt, September 16, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh Acquire Licensing RightsCAIRO, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Egypt has inaugurated a newly restored Ottoman mosque, built by the 16th century governor Suleyman Pasha al-Khadim, that lies within the citadel that has dominated Cairo's skyline for centuries. The mosque, with 22 green-tiled domes and minbar (prayer niche) inlaid with renowned Iznik tiles, is Cairo's earliest Ottoman mosque, built in 1528 A.D., eleven years after the Ottoman army under Sultan Selim conquered Egypt from the Mamluk empire. The mosque, known as the Suleyman Pasha al-Khadim mosque and also the Sariya mosque, is inside Cairo's citadel. The citadel was built by the Muslim general Salah al-Din after he conquered Cairo from the Fatimids.

Persons: Suleyman Pasha, Salah, Amr Abdallah Dalsh, Sultan Selim, Sayed Sariya, Mostafa Waziri, Salah al, Din, Ahmed Fahmy, Amr Abdallah, Patrick Werr, Jane Merriman Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Supreme, of Antiquities, Crusaders, Thomson Locations: Gabal, Ottoman, Din, Cairo, Egypt, Rights CAIRO, Cairo's, Jerusalem

Jerusalem CNN —The United Nations World Heritage Committee voted Sunday to list the Tell es-Sultan archaeological site in Jericho as a “World Heritage Site in Palestine.”The decision was made at a conference held in Riyadh, UNESCO said on its official X account, formerly known as Twitter. The Palestinian Authority welcomed the decision, while Israel expressed ire. The newly designated site, located in Jericho in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, contains ruins dating back to the ninth millennium BCE. “The outstanding universal value of the site qualifies it to be one of the World Heritage sites,” Ma’ayah said. In 2010, Jericho celebrated being the oldest walled city in the world, dating back to the modern Stone Age.

Persons: Antiquities Rula Ma’ayah, “, ” Ma’ayah, Jericho Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, United Nations World Heritage, UNESCO, Twitter, Palestinian Authority, West Bank, Palestinian Authority Foreign Affairs Ministry, ., Tourism, Antiquities, CNN, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ” Locations: Jerusalem, Jericho, Palestine, Riyadh, Israel, Jordan

☆ The Met, the Louvre and the British Museum Should Never Have Hoarded Looted Artifacts - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Jason Felch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

These revelations have shaken the staid museum world and raised important questions about security, record keeping and funding priorities. The British Museum must use this scandal as an opportunity to update the dusty notion of the so-called universal museum — rethinking how these institutions can exist in a 21st-century world where the sharing and blending of cultures has never been more crucial. Rather than resisting calls to repatriate contested objects in their collections, museums should be transparent about their holdings and how they were acquired. They should embark on a campaign of generous, long-term loans that allows objects to circulate freely across borders. This is an opportunity to radically reimagine the mission and purpose of the universal museum — places like the Metropolitan Museum, the Louvre, the Prado and the British Museum — and what they owe to the world.

Persons: Prado Organizations: British, Metropolitan Museum, British Museum —

☆ Family of late U.S. billionaire return looted artifacts to Cambodia
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The family of late American pipeline billionaire George Lindemann has agreed to return 33 looted artifacts to Cambodia, according to the US Attorney’s Office, a decision described as “momentous” by the Southeast Asian country. In a statement it said the family’s decision to return the artifacts was voluntary. Lawyers for the Lindemann family did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He said he understood the Lindemann family had paid more than $20 million for the artifacts. US authorities have spent more than a decade working on locating artifacts from Cambodia and have so far repatriated 65.

Persons: George Lindemann, Koh Ker, Lindemann, Bradley Gordon, Hun Manet, ”, Douglas Latchford Organizations: US, Office, Southern, of, Lawyers, Attorney's, Southern District of, United, Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, American Chamber of Commerce Locations: Cambodia, Angkor, of New York, Koh Ker, Southern District, Southern District of New York, United States

☆ Family of late U.S. billionaire return looted artefacts to Cambodia
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The family of late American pipeline billionaire George Lindemann has agreed to return 33 looted artefacts to Cambodia, according to the US Attorney’s Office, a decision described as “momentous” by the Southeast Asian country. In a statement it said the family’s decision to return the artefacts was voluntary. Lawyers for the Lindemann family did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He said he understood the Lindemann family had paid more than $20 million for the artefacts. US authorities have spent more than a decade working on locating artefacts from Cambodia and have so far repatriated 65.

Persons: George Lindemann, Koh Ker, Lindemann, Bradley Gordon, Hun Manet, ”, Douglas Latchford Organizations: US, Office, Southern, of, Lawyers, Attorney's, Southern District of, United, Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, American Chamber of Commerce Locations: Cambodia, Angkor, of New York, Koh Ker, Southern District, Southern District of New York, United States

☆ Family of late U.S. billionaire agrees to return looted Cambodian artefacts
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Clare Baldwin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sept 13 (Reuters) - The family of late American pipeline billionaire George Lindemann has agreed to return 33 looted artefacts to Cambodia, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, a decision described as "momentous" by the Southeast Asian country. In a statement it said the family's decision to return the artefacts was voluntary. Lawyers for the Lindemann family did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He said he understood the Lindemann family had paid more than $20 million for the artefacts. U.S. authorities have been spent more than a decade working on locating artefacts from Cambodia and have so far repatriated 65.

Persons: George Lindemann, Koh Ker, Lindemann, Bradley Gordon, Hun Manet, Douglas Latchford, Clare Baldwin, Chantha Lach, Martin Petty Organizations: Attorney's, Southern, of, Lawyers, United, Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, American Chamber of Commerce, Thomson Locations: Cambodia, Angkor, U.S, of New York, United States, Hong Kong, Phnom Penh

☆ Four 1,900-year-old Roman swords found in cave in Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Archaeologists have found four Roman swords and a shafted weapon known as a pilum dating from 1,900 years ago in a cave near the shore of the Dead Sea in Israel. Amir Ganor/Israel Antiquities AuthorityFurther investigation revealed four swords “in an almost inaccessible crevice on the upper level of the cave,” the statement said. Three of the swords had iron blades inside wooden scabbards and measured 60-65 centimeters (24-26 inches) in length. Further excavations uncovered a bronze “Bar Kokhba” coin dating from 132–135 CE, possibly dating the swords, according to the press release. At this time, the Bar Kokhba Revolt, also known as the Second Jewish Revolt, saw Jews rebel against Roman rule in the area.

Persons: Dafna Gazit, ”, Hagay Hamer, Amir Ganor, Eitan Klein, Yoli Schwartz, ” Eli Escusido Organizations: CNN —, Israel Antiquities Authority, Studies, Survey Locations: Israel, Judean, ‘

☆ 4 Roman-era swords were found perfectly preserved in their scabbards in a cave. They were as sharp as if they were hidden today, scientists said.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Marianne Guenot | Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Perfectly preserved Roman-era swords were discovered in a Dead Sea cave by Israeli reseachers. The Israeli Antiquities Authority thinks the four swords were used by Judean rebels 1,900 years ago. Ilan Ben Zion / Associated PressOn Wednesday, the Israeli Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of the cache in a small, almost inaccessible Judean Desert cave near the Dead Sea. Scientists said the swords featured wooden and leather hilts, wooden scabbards, and steel blades that were amazingly preserved after spending almost 2,000 years in a remote desert cave. Researchers discover the ancient Roman-era swords in a small crack of a remote cave near the Dead Sea.

Persons: reseacher, Eitan Klein, Ilan Ben Zion, Eithan Klein, Eli Escusido, Emil Aladjem, Klein Organizations: Israeli Antiquities Authority, Service, Survey Project, Israel Antiquities Authority, Associated, Survey, BBC, Authority Locations: Wall, Silicon, Judean, Israel, Judea

☆ Roman-era swords, likely Jewish rebel booty, unearthed in Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Ancient swords, believed by the Israel Antiquities Authority to be from the Roman era dating back 1,900 years and found in a weapons cache in a cave in an Israeli desert, are displayed in Jerusalem, September 6, 2023. The fashioning of three of the blades recalls Roman "spatha" swords, and the fourth has a ring-pommel handle consistent with the period, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said. The rare find included a shafted Roman "pilum" spear. A coin from the time of the Bar Kokhba revolt of 132-135 AD was found at the entrance to the cave. "Obviously, the rebels did not want to be caught by the Roman authorities carrying these weapons."

Persons: Ronen, Eitan Klein, Dan Williams, Christina Fincher Organizations: Israel Antiquities Authority, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Jerusalem, Israel

JERUSALEM (AP) — Four Roman-era swords, their wooden and leather hilts and scabbards and steel blades exquisitely preserved after 1,900 years in a desert cave, surfaced in a recent excavation by Israeli archaeologists near the Dead Sea, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Wednesday. The cache of exceptionally intact artifacts was found about two months ago and tells a story of empire and rebellion, of long-distance conquest and local insurrection. The swords were dated based on their typology, and have not yet undergone radiocarbon dating. Political Cartoons View All 1145 ImagesThe cool, arid and stable climate of the desert caves has allowed exceptional preservation of organic remains, including hundreds of ancient parchment fragments known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Archaeologists returned to this particular cave near the desert oasis of Ein Gedi to document an inscription found decades earlier.

Persons: Gedi, ”, Asaf Gayer, Guy Stiebel, —, “ Organizations: JERUSALEM, Israel Antiquities Authority, Survey, Scrolls, Ariel University, Tel, Tel Aviv University, Jewish Locations: Israel, Roman, Judaea, Tel Aviv, “

☆ One of the world’s oldest synagogues reopens in Egypt
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Aimee Look | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Egypt has reopened one of the world’s oldest synagogues and home to the most significant single trove of Jewish manuscripts. A copy of the "Torah scrolls" at the newly restored Ben Ezra Synagogue, Egypt's oldest Jewish temple, after decade-long restoration, in old Cairo, Egypt. It awarded Drops of Milk a grant in 2017 to fund their restoration efforts of the remaining synagogues in Egypt, including Ben Ezra, Bertini said. The Ark and "Menorah" at the newly restored Ben Ezra Synagogue, in old Cairo, Egypt. The "Bimah," also known in Arabic as al-minbar, is pictured at the newly restored Ben Ezra Synagogue, in old Cairo, Egypt.

Persons: Ben Ezra, Mostafa Madbouly, Abraham ibn Ezra, Moses Maimonides, Maimonides, Moses, Amr Abdallah Dalsh, Egypt’s MOTA, Louise Bertini, ARCE, Bertini, “ There’s, Abel Fattah al, Sisi, Khaled Fahmy Organizations: CNN, Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Cambridge University Library, Milk Association, American Research Centre, UNESCO, Heritage Locations: Egypt, Egypt's, Cairo

☆ Investigators Seize ‘Marcus Aurelius’ Statue From Cleveland Museum
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Tom Mashberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

With its flowing robes and stoic posture, the larger-than-life bronze statue believed to represent the great Roman statesman Marcus Aurelius had, since 1986, held pride of place in the Greek and Roman galleries at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Now the statue is off display, seized under a warrant earlier this month by the Manhattan district attorney’s office. The office said on Thursday that the seizure was related to an “ongoing criminal investigation into a smuggling network involving antiquities looted from Turkey and trafficked through Manhattan.”In their warrant, investigators put the value of the statue, which is headless, at $20 million, and said it was about 1,800 years old. They said it would be transported to New York in September. According to the district attorney’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit, the accused traffickers were based in New York, giving the unit legal authority to seize the statue from another state because New York was the “focal point of the conspiracy.” Officials would not elaborate on the case.

Persons: Marcus Aurelius Organizations: Cleveland Museum of Art, ”, Trafficking Locations: Manhattan, Turkey, New York

☆ Archaeologists find 'mystery' ducts near biblical Jerusalem relics
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The knee-deep channels, dating back 2,800 years, are located outside Jerusalem's walled Old City. "We looked at the installation and realised that we had stumbled on something unique," said archaeologist Yiftah Shalev in a joint statement, dubbing the discovery a "mystery". The channels may have been used to prepare a commodity "connected to the economy of the temple or palace", said archaeologist Yuval Gadot in the statement. "The production of linen, for example, requires soaking the flax for a long time to soften it. The find, part of Israel's City of David National Park, will go on public display next week, the statement said.

Persons: Yiftah Shalev, Yuval Gadot, Gadot, Dan Williams, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Israel Antiquities Authority, Tel Aviv University, David, Thomson Locations: Israel, Jerusalem, JERUSALEM, Old City, Israel's City

☆ British Museum director quits over stolen treasures
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Andrew Macaskill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A sign for the British Museum which houses the Parthenon sculptures is seen in London, Britain, January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The director of the British Museum said on Friday he would step down after admitting to failings in its investigation into the theft of items from its collection. "It is evident that the British Museum did not respond as comprehensively as it should have," he said in a statement. Fischer said that he withdrew remarks made about the art dealer who first alerted museum bosses to the stolen items. Earlier this week, Fischer said Ittai Gradel, an antiquities dealer, withheld information about the scale of the stolen items when he contacted the museum.

Persons: Toby Melville, Hartwig Fischer, Fischer, Ittai Gradel, George Osborne, Osborne, Andrew MacAskill, Sachin Ravikumar, Angus MacSwan, Andrew Heavens Organizations: British, REUTERS, British Museum, Police, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

☆ Jewelry worth up to $63,000 was stolen from one of the world's top museums and sold on eBay for as little as $50, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Several jewelry items worth up to $63,000 were stolen from the British Museum in London. A museum curator suspected of being behind the thefts was fired, and police are investigating. Some of the items were worth up to £50,000, or approximately $63,000, and were listed on eBay for as little as £40, or $50, according to British newspaper The Telegraph. An independent review is underway to establish what is missing, attempting to recover the missing items and preventing future thefts. A spokesman for the British Museum told the paper: "We have conducted a thorough investigation, identified the person we believe to be responsible, and that person has been dismissed.

Persons: Peter Higgs, Higgs, Greg, Greg Higgs, He's, I've, Nobody, Martin Henig Organizations: British Museum, eBay, Service, British, Telegraph, The Telegraph, University of Oxford Locations: London, Wall, Silicon

☆ Metal detectorists find 2,000-year-old Iron Age gold treasure in Welsh first
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Amarachi Orie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Gold coins dating back more than 2,000 years have been found by metal detectorists in Wales, making them the first hoard of Iron Age gold coins to have been discovered in the country. The precious metals were unearthed by three metal detectorists in a field between July 2021 and March 2022. ‘Rich archaeological landscape’The gold coins’ elaborate design derives from those of Philip II, who ruled the ancient kingdom of Macedonia from 359 BC to 336 BC. The gold coins' elaborate design derives from those of Philip II. The staters could also have been used as “offerings to the gods” to fulfill a vow, according to National Museum Wales.

Persons: Lloyd Roberts, ”, Museum Wales Roberts, Peter Cockton, Tim Watson, “, ” Watson, Watson, ‘, Philip II, Sean Derby Organizations: CNN, National Museum Wales, Amgueddfa Cymru, Museum Wales, Museum Wales Another, Gwynedd Archaeological, Environment, Oriel Locations: Wales, Anglesey, East Midlands, Macedonia, Gwynedd, North, West Wales

☆ Italy repatriates looted ancient artefacts from the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Some of the antiquities returned to Italy from U.S. are displayed during a ceremony in New York, U.S., August 8, 2023. Carabinieri/Handout via REUTERSROME, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Italy said it repatriated 266 ancient artefacts worth tens of millions of euros from the United States, where they had been brought and sold during the late 1990s by an international network of artefact smugglers. A statement from a specialist unit of Italy's carabinieri police on Friday said the return of the artefacts was due to the cooperation between Italian and U.S. judicial authorities. Pictures provided by the Italian culture ministry show the artefacts include several painted pots, the head of a statue and some coins, which were displayed at a restitution ceremony earlier this week in New York. The statement said 145 pieces were recovered as part of bankruptcy proceedings against British antiquities dealer Robin Symes.

Persons: Robin Symes, Angelo Amante, Miral Organizations: REUTERS, Graecia, Menil, Thomson Locations: Italy, U.S, New York, REUTERS ROME, United States, Imperial Rome, Houston

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